Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
11 papers
This randomized, double‑blind, cross‑over trial gave 51 patients with life‑threatening cancer two sessions of psilocybin (one very low dose and one high dose) spaced five weeks apart. The high dose (22–30 mg/70 kg) produced large drops in clinician‑ and self‑rated depression and anxiety, and increased quality of life, meaning, and…
This randomized, double-blind phase 3 trial tested MDMA-assisted therapy versus placebo with the same therapy in 90 adults with severe PTSD. Participants had three drug sessions plus preparatory and integration therapy, and were assessed 18 weeks after starting. The MDMA group had larger drops in PTSD symptoms and in functional…
This multi-site, randomized, double-blind phase 3 trial tested MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) versus placebo with the same therapy in 104 people with moderate to severe PTSD. Blinded assessors found larger average reductions in PTSD symptoms and in functional impairment for the MDMA-AT group than for the placebo group. The MDMA group…
This small, randomized, double-blind pilot study tested MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety tied to life‑threatening illness. Eighteen people were enrolled (13 got MDMA, 5 got placebo) and had two blinded 8‑hour therapy sessions, with later open‑label MDMA sessions and 6‑ and 12‑month follow-ups. The MDMA group showed a larger drop in…
In a small randomized, double-blind crossover study of 15 men with chronic radicular lower‑limb neuropathic pain, a single sublingual dose of THC (about 15.4 mg on average) reduced pain more than placebo. The amount of pain relief was linked to changes on resting‑state fMRI: reduced connectivity between emotional/cognitive brain areas…
This paper looked across existing studies of psilocybin and found that, when it is given along with psychotherapy or therapy-style support, it looks promising as a treatment for several mental health problems, including cases that did not get better with other treatments. But the authors say the current studies are…
MAPS reports results from a randomized, blinded Phase 3 trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for severe, chronic PTSD (90 people, average 14 years of PTSD). After three MDMA-assisted therapy sessions, 67% of treated participants no longer met the study's PTSD diagnosis and 88% had a clinically meaningful symptom drop, compared with…
This small, exploratory study gave people with moderate to severe major depressive disorder placebo first (19 people) and then a single dose of psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg) to 15 people four weeks later, with all dosing embedded in therapy based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). After the psilocybin session, measures…
Researchers reviewed 19 placebo-controlled studies that tested low doses of LSD or psilocybin (this is called microdosing). The studies found measurable changes in brain biology, body responses, how people felt, and how they thought, compared with placebo. But the studies are few and small, often tested only tiny doses in…
This review looked at published clinical trials of psilocybin for depression. It found 11 trials (six open‑label and five double‑blind randomized trials) that report rapid antidepressant and anti‑anxiety effects in some patients. The paper describes how psilocybin acts on serotonin 5‑HT2A receptors, may boost brain plasticity, and may lower brain…
This was a 6-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that tested low-dose LSD (20 μg) given twice weekly in 53 adults with moderate to severe ADHD. Both the LSD group and the placebo group showed similar symptom reductions by week 6 (LSD mean change on the ADHD rating scale −7.1 points; placebo…
